Cage Warriors returns for its second leg of the promotion’s “Trilogy Strikes Back” series in London, England, with the promotion’s middleweight title on the line in the main event.

Cage Warriors 118 features a nine-bout card at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, with the headline bout featuring middleweight champion Nathias Frederick, who is set to put his 185-pound title on the line against Jamie Richardson.

Set for action in the co-main event are welterweights Leonardo Damiani and Aaron Khalid, who both have their sights set on a title shot at 170 pounds. The night also sees the return of former welterweight title challenger and UK MMA stalwart Matt Inman, who takes on Matthew Bonner.

Follow the results with MMA Junkie through the night via our live results and recaps below.

McAleenan weathers early storm before scoring submission finish

Lightweights Decky McAleenan and Adam Ventre kicked off the main card, and it was Liverpool’s Ventre (8-5) who was the aggressor early as he looked to impose himself from top position for much of the round, while McAleenan (7-3) tried to stay active from his back.

However, despite the Irishman’s spirited attempts to snatch an armbar, then a triangle choke, Ventre did a good job of staying out of trouble and scored with strikes from within his opponent’s guard as the round came to a close.

Ventre changed up his approach at the start of Round 2 and rolled for a kneebar, but McAleenan spied the danger, avoided the submission and then put himself in position to win the fight.

After escaping the submission attempt, McAleenan swiftly moved to the Liverpudlian’s back and locked up a tight rear-naked choke that forced the tap at the 1:13 mark.

Preliminary card recap

The action was fast and furious on the preliminary card, with Liam Gittins picking up a superb second-round submission win over former bantamweight title challenger Josh Reed in the featured preliminary bout of the night.

The pair went back and forth on the mat through a fast-paced opening round, but when Gittins (6-1) locked up a triangle choke in the first minute of the second round, he only needed a few additional seconds to adjust his technique before Reed (10-5) was forced to tap.

Steve Aimable (15-8) also enjoyed a night to remember at the York Hall, as he showcased his hands in a blistering first-round TKO finish of Tom Mearns (6-6), while in the night’s opening bout, Nathan Fletcher (4-0) picked up a solid submission finish after locking up a second-round rear-naked choke to defeat Leigh Mitchell (3-2).

The bad blood continued after the final buzzer following the featherweight bout between Ben Ellis and Kingsley Crawford. After the fight went all the way to the scorecards, Crawford (5-3) seemed unimpressed with Ellis (3-0), but the judges had a different opinion, with all three scoring the fight 29-28 in favor of the undefeated Welshman.

Cage Warriors 118 official results

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Champion Nathias Frederick vs. Jamie Richardson – for middleweight title
  • Leonardi Damiani vs. Aaron Khalid
  • Matthew Bonner vs. Matt Inman
  • Madars Fleminas def. Mick Stanton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Decky McAleenan def. Adam Ventre via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 1:13

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Liam Gittins def. Josh Reed via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:08
  • Steve Aimable def. Tom Mearns via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
  • Ben Ellis def. Kingsley Crawford via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Nathan Fletcher def. Leigh Mitchell via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:18

Video: Cage Warriors 118 fight week vlog

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